NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 9, 2026 — Commercial Insurance Associates, one of the nation’s largest property and casualty insurance brokers, has added Joe Malzacher as a Principal in the company’s Employee Benefits practice group.

Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Malzacher will focus on expanding CIA’s employee benefits presence across Florida and the Southeast, working with growth-oriented employers to navigate the complexity of modern benefits design — from self-funding and stop-loss structures to ACA compliance, captives, and reference-based pricing.

“Joe brings exactly the kind of depth and credibility our employee benefits practice is built on,” says Scott Denbo, chief executive officer of CIA. “He understands how benefits strategy connects to broader business performance — cost structure, recruitment, retention, compliance — and he’s spent his career helping employers get that equation right. We’re glad to have him.”

Malzacher brings more than 15 years of benefits consulting experience, a deep command of self-funded and alternative funding strategies, and a track record of helping mid-sized employers design benefit programs that control costs and strengthen workforce retention. He most recently served as a Partner at The Baldwin Group, where he spent nearly 14 years advising clients on complex employee benefits solutions. Earlier in his career he held benefits sales roles with Assurant Employee Benefits and Paychex and began his professional career in area management with Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

A Certified Self-Funding Specialist (CSFS®), Malzacher has served in leadership roles across his professional community, including past president of both the Jacksonville Association of Health Underwriters (2013–2015) and the North Florida Compensation and Benefits Association (2020–2022). His focuses on self-funded and alternative funding strategies, stop-loss and captives, private equity portfolio solutions, voluntary and group benefits program optimization, and ACA compliance.

“CIA offers an entrepreneurial culture that allows me to put my clients’ needs first,” says Malzacher. “It is an environment that prioritizes technical focus and high-touch advocacy above all else. I’m delighted to be here.”

With the addition of Malzacher, CIA now has three Employee Benefits teams across the country: its initial, Nashville-based Employee Benefits practice group was added in 2024, followed by a West Coast office in 2025.

About Commercial Insurance Associates

Founded in 2002, Commercial Insurance Associates, LLC is an Insurance Journal Top 100 property and casualty insurance broker in the US, and was recently named a Top Workplace by The Tennessean. With over $400 million in premium volume written, CIA’s 150 employees are committed to providing superior solutions to clients’ risk management needs. Licensed in all 50 states and currently representing select international clients, CIA’s client portfolio ranges from publicly held companies to local start-up ventures. The company has offices in Nashville, Greenville, SC, Jacksonville, FL, and Los Angeles. https://www.com-ins.com/